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How Ancient Egyptians Sounded

What did ancient Egyptians sound like? Professor of Egyptology and Archaeology Laurel Bestock explains how we know. Still haven’t subscribed to WIRED on YouTube? ►► Listen to the Get WIRED podcast ►► Want more WIRED? Get the magazine ►► Follow WIRED: Instagram ►► Twitter ►► Facebook ►► Tik Tok ►► Also, check out the free…

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What did ancient Egyptians sound like? Professor of Egyptology and Archaeology Laurel Bestock explains how we know.

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123 Comments

  1. @pcm8409

    March 14, 2024 at 12:16 pm

    Glad to know the mummy is close haha

  2. @brandon9888

    March 14, 2024 at 12:17 pm

    Why don’t you list who the speaker is?

    • @Andrea-xs4ny

      March 14, 2024 at 12:40 pm

      Dr. Laurel Bestock (it’s in the description)

  3. @davidlape3325

    March 14, 2024 at 12:30 pm

    🎶Talk like an Egyptian🎶⚰️🏺😂

  4. @gabe4247

    March 14, 2024 at 12:57 pm

    This is literally a lie. We cannot phonetically reconstruct Ancient Egyptian because they did not write their vowel sounds in their phonetic written language. Coptic is probably close, but it’s essentially an educated guess. We have no way of knowing what vowel sounds they used.

    • @ObsessiveGeek

      March 14, 2024 at 2:44 pm

      She didn’t claim to know exactly what it sounded like, only like you say we still have an example of what it LIKELY sounded as least very similar to.

    • @gabe4247

      March 14, 2024 at 5:13 pm

      @@ObsessiveGeek well, it sounded to me like she said we could reconstruct the language phonetically, and it’s still unclear how to even say Egypt in Ancient Egyptian. To me, it seemed like she was misleading people.

    • @ObsessiveGeek

      March 14, 2024 at 5:23 pm

      @@gabe4247 She’s saying we have a good idea what it sounded like, that’s it.

      You’re adding absolutes into what was said, to call it a “lie” is a bit extreme.

    • @gabe4247

      March 14, 2024 at 6:21 pm

      @@ObsessiveGeek She said “very good.” We don’t. We have an idea.

  5. @gabe4247

    March 14, 2024 at 12:57 pm

    We cannot phonetically reconstruct Ancient Egyptian because they did not write their vowel sounds in their phonetic written language. Coptic is probably close, but it’s essentially an educated guess. We have no way of knowing what vowel sounds they used.

    • @ObsessiveGeek

      March 15, 2024 at 2:23 am

      @gabe4247  still, calling it a lie is an extreme overreaction, dude.

  6. @Usiris23

    March 14, 2024 at 1:20 pm

    The Mummy was such a banger. Prime Brenden Fraser and Racheal Weisz 💪🏽

  7. @goshnodo

    March 14, 2024 at 1:37 pm

    This is not true.

  8. @asadmalik2464

    March 14, 2024 at 1:38 pm

    The mummy was such a legendary movie fr

  9. @CapOb314

    March 14, 2024 at 4:27 pm

    I can’t wait for all the comments saying this person is not a credible source because we have no absolute evidence of many parts of Egyptain culture as if that somehow slays all semblance of credibility.

    • @gabe4247

      March 14, 2024 at 6:53 pm

      No, it doesn’t mean she’s always wrong, she’s just wrong right now.

    • @Nick-hi9gx

      March 16, 2024 at 1:10 am

      No, this person isn’t credible because she is pretending the Egyptian dialects written down in Greek in the Classical Greek Period are anything like the languages of Egypt 2500 years before that.

  10. @AdnicajChiquis

    March 14, 2024 at 5:37 pm

    This lady is if Julia stiles and Drew Barrymore had a middle aged child

  11. @deathsee

    March 14, 2024 at 5:39 pm

    you do with the short vowel a few hundred years ago, you have no clue what even they sounded like, but, please, continue haaaaaaaaaa

    • @Nick-hi9gx

      March 16, 2024 at 1:17 am

      We know what they sounded like during the Greek Classical Age, through some of the Roman Era in Egypt. They made rhyming poetry and left puns that use homophones and the like.
      But that says nothing about the Egyptians that built the pyramids, or fought the Hittites. Centuries and centuries of linguistic shift, if not dramatic change because of invasion.

    • @deathsee

      March 16, 2024 at 1:25 am

      @@Nick-hi9gx First, Pre Holy Roman Latin and Latin sounded NOTHING alike, same with Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Greek, and a Lot more, these Videos and People do not bother really researching facts and Just babble away. can we learn what they mean, sure, can we know how they sounded, if you bother to actually study how the Vowels and Languages really progressed, but No, Not by learning how to speak Coptic, which even then, I would have my doubts

    • @deathsee

      March 16, 2024 at 1:26 am

      @@Nick-hi9gx that just means II agree with what you say on Linguistic Shifts

  12. @LailaAhmed-re5co

    March 14, 2024 at 6:24 pm

    I’m Egyptian and if I’m not mistaken, the architect of the Great Pyramid is called Hamin-ou

    • @EpiphoneShredzzzzz

      March 15, 2024 at 11:30 am

      So now who is correct–the Egyptian or the Egyptologist?

    • @user-np8lb5jf3h

      March 15, 2024 at 4:15 pm

      She said first pyramid not the great pyramid

  13. @magnus1383

    March 14, 2024 at 8:41 pm

    So they _could_ have done Prince of Egypt in Coptic!

    • @gabe4247

      March 14, 2024 at 8:57 pm

      Coptic didn’t exist yet. Hebrew would actually make more sense.

    • @TheRulerRoderickSutton

      March 15, 2024 at 2:38 am

      How did you write in italics???😮😮

    • @OcarinaSapphr-

      March 17, 2024 at 7:07 am

      @@TheRulerRoderickSutton
      They used _underscore_ either side; to write *bold* , you use an asterisk either side, & leave a space between any punctuation – _otherwise_, it won’t *show up*!

  14. @patrickparr3331

    March 14, 2024 at 10:35 pm

    Cool.

  15. @p.be.s

    March 15, 2024 at 1:53 am

    The Nubians are part of ancient Egyptians… black Africans.

    • @MuchToDoAboutNowt

      March 19, 2024 at 11:14 am

      Nubia was it’s own ancient civilization later conquered and ruled by Ancient Egypt. Do you agree that any people conquered by an opposing warring civilization become a different ethnicity?

    • @p.be.s

      March 19, 2024 at 12:02 pm

      @@MuchToDoAboutNowt that would mean that Africans who were conquered by the Portuguese, Arabs and you who are now different ethnicities?

    • @raerohan4241

      March 20, 2024 at 11:52 am

      ​@@p.be.s See, it sounds ridiculous even to you. Egyptians didn’t become black just because they were ruled by black people for some length of time.

  16. @danitho

    March 15, 2024 at 2:13 am

    People claiming this is false but not giving any evidence 😂

  17. @galphie5997

    March 15, 2024 at 4:50 am

    Asterix&Obelix: “Yeah, yeah, Imhotep”

  18. @bennyhuang2014

    March 15, 2024 at 6:09 am

    I love doomscrolling, seeing something interesting like this, and forgetting it the next day. 🙂‍↕️😌🙂‍↕️

  19. @cmnyc4286

    March 15, 2024 at 8:19 am

    “Hieroglyphics ain’t speech”… high quality questions. Sounds like they need to learn English first!

  20. @KingdomSilverStar

    March 15, 2024 at 2:47 pm

    Instead of just reading some for us in
    2024 Egyptologists play Hollywood movies. Just awesome, thank you 😅

  21. @leaderforever6282

    March 15, 2024 at 3:07 pm

    They sounded like Africans😂😂😂😂😂, but they won’t accept!!

    • @Bananabear20

      March 16, 2024 at 4:37 am

      They sounded Greek

    • @Andris-ml4oo

      March 17, 2024 at 8:53 pm

      And what are Africans supposed to sound like?

  22. @IllKeepALightOn

    March 15, 2024 at 4:32 pm

    This lady can barely speak English, I don’t trust her

  23. @Bumper_jed

    March 15, 2024 at 11:15 pm

    Of course the ancient Egyptians were Nordic.

  24. @jj-vu5ov

    March 16, 2024 at 12:51 am

    I know she isnt saying definitively that we know exactly what they sounded like, but if ancient egypt persisted thousands of years, wouldnt they have generational differences in their speech, diction, accents, etc. Sorta similar to how Old and Middle English sound pretty different to the many variations of modern english? Id imagine thered be many ways Egyptian sounded depending on the time period.

    • @Nick-hi9gx

      March 16, 2024 at 1:11 am

      Yes, exactly this. She is talking about what Egyptians sounded like ~600BCE, up through ~100CE. Couple thousand years after the Pyramids were constructed.

    • @GRB-tj6uj

      March 20, 2024 at 3:32 pm

      Yeah and an added issue is that hieroglyphic script doesn’t have vowels (like Hebrew). So for the early history of Egypt we can only guess

  25. @silverphoenix1307

    March 16, 2024 at 11:37 am

    I need more cowbell

  26. @someguysomewhere100

    March 16, 2024 at 11:56 am

    It’s been known for decades that the ancient Egyptians sounded very similar to London cockneys.

    The ancient Egyptian sound was characterized by its distinctive rhyming slang, and dropped “H” sounds, and the “th” sound often pronounced as “f” or “v.”

  27. @carpe5432

    March 16, 2024 at 3:13 pm

    Even I, an enthusiast in Ancient Egypt culture, know that the supposedly Greek (both with Arabic) elements were introduced to the Ancient Egypt culture almost to the end of its existence. We still do not fully know how the language sounded at the beginning or even middle of its civilisation. I don’t think it’s fully credible, should’ve stated it more clearly.

    • @OcarinaSapphr-

      March 17, 2024 at 7:12 am

      I was of the assumption that it was like a linguistic reverse-engineering; the Rosetta Stone had one element that could be understood (the Greek portion)- & a small presumption was made: that the other two portions were actually saying *the same thing* , rather than being symbolic (which was novel at the time)- & using the Greek as the key, they used that starting point & slowly deciphered both Hieroglyphics & Demotic…

  28. @karlforsyth-gray3519

    March 16, 2024 at 3:45 pm

    Don’t agree coptic is very late variation of eygyptian. They pre dynastic and up to the middle kingdom we can not know how ancient eygyptians sounded like .
    Capric came about around the second century CE and would have been heavily influenced by ptolomaic Greek and roman Latin

  29. @user-ww6cx3de1d

    March 16, 2024 at 5:56 pm

    Another scammer who thinks she knows more about Egypt..than Egyptians…

    Typical arrogance…they shall teach you your culture…

  30. @thepoweroftacos5311

    March 17, 2024 at 4:01 am

    I see the mummy I give a thumbs up

  31. @OcarinaSapphr-

    March 17, 2024 at 7:04 am

    I have **always** wondered if films like ‘The Mummy’ & ‘Stargate’s’ Egyptian was gibberish, or there was linguists working on them…

  32. @JoseLopez-tk4tq

    March 17, 2024 at 9:28 pm

    Sorry, it’s still Greek to me. 🏺

  33. @satlynutz

    March 18, 2024 at 2:26 am

    Who knew the mummy was so historically accurate😅 even to this day the first time you see the mummy, before he start sucking the life force out of bitc**s, still terrifies me😂

  34. @amulawa

    March 18, 2024 at 11:36 am

    we wuz kangz?

  35. @johnjoyus6062

    March 18, 2024 at 7:02 pm

    Sounds good.

  36. @LeonArdo-ev6xo

    March 19, 2024 at 4:41 pm

    Em how thep???😂😂😂

  37. @juliebaxter7152

    March 20, 2024 at 4:02 am

    Really? That was accurate! Awesome! Named my daughter Evie after that movie, reminds me of old Indiana Jones.❤ love Egyptian culture

  38. @blizzunt420e

    March 20, 2024 at 5:34 am

    I bet you make some great facial expressions while getting eaten out

  39. @AlexsandroFerreira-bm5qe

    March 20, 2024 at 3:28 pm

    Histórico 😂😢😅😮

  40. @AlexsandroFerreira-bm5qe

    March 21, 2024 at 12:43 am

    Ok.

  41. @brunobely

    March 21, 2024 at 4:07 am

    That tweet has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.

  42. @TonkarzOfSolSystem

    March 21, 2024 at 6:11 am

    Ancient Egypt lasted thousands of years. English can’t even sound the same for a few centuries in a row. And just because they used greek letters doesn’t mean speaking the language was exactly the same as the greek letters.

    As an example Japanese is sometimes written in English letters but the sounds are only ever an approximation at best.

  43. @seyeruoynepotsuj

    March 21, 2024 at 6:58 am

    I didn’t expect my takeaway to be regarding the positive historical accuracy of the mummy movies.

  44. @AlannaSingsALot

    March 21, 2024 at 8:27 am

    She reminds me of a science nerd Drew Barrymore 🤓

  45. @msjkramey

    March 21, 2024 at 9:10 am

    Just because we have living versions of the language doesn’t mean we know how the older version sounded though. There are all sorts of shifts in pronunciation and regional accents and slang that are all lost to time

  46. @juilenechilton544

    March 21, 2024 at 1:43 pm

    “Here’s a quarter” ……………..

  47. @yaganomabaatuolkuu3702

    March 21, 2024 at 5:15 pm

    That accent sounds terrible 😂😂😂

  48. @jinxingxuelang

    March 21, 2024 at 6:47 pm

    My love for The Mummy yet again increased 😻

  49. @josiahkronk6846

    March 22, 2024 at 1:38 am

    That’s super fantastic!

  50. @ZombieQueeen

    March 22, 2024 at 1:44 am

    How interesting ! Thank you

  51. @YwY-ct5yq

    March 22, 2024 at 1:50 am

    How did we knowbits phoenetic… English today sounds so not like how its written ket alone french

  52. @bensmith5685

    March 22, 2024 at 2:55 am

    Haven’t we proved the pyramids was there before the Egyptians why do these people still lie 🤯🤯

    • @stopmotionharry8989

      March 22, 2024 at 7:45 am

      We haven’t proven that, we’ve proven the opposite 🤯

    • @Vermillion808

      March 22, 2024 at 1:17 pm

      We’ve proven the opposite

  53. @Gandalf22476

    March 22, 2024 at 2:59 am

    We know how it sounded because we have the archival footage…. starring Brendan Fraser.

  54. @Carniwarrior1111

    March 22, 2024 at 10:04 am

    Bad skin is a sign of inflammation. Reduce inflammation by doing an elimination diet eating only beef, eggs, salt & water for 30 days. Boom, no more breakouts. You’re welcome.

  55. @sambarvada

    March 22, 2024 at 10:22 am

    The egyptians didn’t build the pyramids

  56. @Davewutsup

    March 22, 2024 at 10:59 am

    Drew Barrymore’s baby sister

  57. @myfuneralismytimetoshine

    March 22, 2024 at 11:01 am

    The mummy had no business being that accurate and respectful. I know the whole Anubis thing was wrong, but still, they slapped.

  58. @MonsterPrincessLala

    March 22, 2024 at 11:12 am

    “ain’t speech” clearly doesn’t know that Egyptian people still exist

  59. @AndreLobov

    March 22, 2024 at 12:11 pm

    “Hieroglyphics ain’t speech” neither are latin letters 😂

  60. @Ozzymandius1

    March 22, 2024 at 12:57 pm

    We also happen to know what one screams like.

  61. @melleetheka

    March 22, 2024 at 1:27 pm

    Holy crap she looks like Kathy Bates when she was young!!

  62. @badtanline

    March 22, 2024 at 1:52 pm

    And the Egyptian word for cat is miaow

  63. @SaidAlSeveres

    March 22, 2024 at 1:52 pm

    Gonna need 700 shorts on this please

  64. @sharri5412

    March 22, 2024 at 2:32 pm

    Greek

  65. @TheDichotomyofEverything

    March 22, 2024 at 3:45 pm

    Lies lies and more lies 😂

  66. @XavierVB

    March 22, 2024 at 4:21 pm

    That one line “Hieroglyphics don’t make sound” is hilarious because neither do letters. They’re just supposed to be transcriptions of our speech

  67. @FanFicnic

    March 22, 2024 at 5:50 pm

    Wait really?? I didn’t know they used Coptic fr fr

  68. @Nadine369

    March 22, 2024 at 6:25 pm

    So fantastic! The Mummy

  69. @fonglim1670

    March 22, 2024 at 6:36 pm

    So not very great. Not that attractive a language.

  70. @otakugamer2690

    March 22, 2024 at 6:48 pm

    No siblings 😶‍🌫️

  71. @justiceforusall7038

    March 22, 2024 at 7:49 pm

    bruh we can’t phonetically get words now “right” 🙄🤣😏

  72. @wizzerd229

    March 23, 2024 at 12:28 pm

    Lmao the latin alphabet isnt speech either what is bro on

  73. @brad349miller

    March 23, 2024 at 12:56 pm

    Why did they succumb to Islam? All hail hatred!

  74. @pondypoo

    March 23, 2024 at 2:12 pm

    I need to rewatch The Mummy again! My mom bought the CD for it and we watched the movie together as a family every now and then, I miss it so much, snuggling in my blankie during the scary scenes and hiding behind my mom and my sister

  75. @ThePeteSandoval

    March 23, 2024 at 2:18 pm

    When she was reading the comment it sounded like she was about to drop some bars 💀

  76. @maocharlisme

    March 23, 2024 at 2:21 pm

    I love it!!

  77. @mickyodeon

    March 23, 2024 at 2:26 pm

    Love the Mummy

  78. @gottalovetheinternet

    March 23, 2024 at 2:31 pm

    They were white!

  79. @ZeldasMask

    March 23, 2024 at 2:59 pm

    lol ‘the first pyramid in eypt’ ok Jan

    • @olivesan.

      March 23, 2024 at 3:10 pm

      What did you mean by this?

  80. @JohnStrong-fd8lq

    March 23, 2024 at 3:09 pm

    Amount of times I’d start “Iiiiiimmmmmhooooteeeeeep, iiiiimphoooooteeeeeeeeping” is infinite

  81. @saragrant556

    March 23, 2024 at 3:12 pm

    I have heard an ancient Egyptian before! He specifically went “AHHHHH!” 😂

  82. @bionicRod

    March 23, 2024 at 3:15 pm

    Really cool video!

  83. @khier-eddinehennaoui9783

    March 23, 2024 at 3:20 pm

    Now tell us how dinosaurs talked 🤔

  84. @devonjardine9603

    March 23, 2024 at 3:35 pm

    Imhotep didn’t build the first pyramid. He did the first renovation.

  85. @gnomedeguerre2482

    March 23, 2024 at 4:26 pm

    How much did it change over time tho…. late stage Koptic when the Greeks were around vs thousands of years before.. just saying Ye Olde Egyptian might have had a difference or two 😅

    But still a great start no doubt

  86. @user-bv3vr1bo1q

    March 23, 2024 at 4:49 pm

    But ehat about the earlier state of the language?

  87. @Natz77

    March 23, 2024 at 4:51 pm

    eyelashes be like🕷️🕷️🕷️

  88. @ursidae97

    March 23, 2024 at 5:29 pm

    This take on imhotep was hot

  89. @youssefgergis7360

    March 23, 2024 at 5:31 pm

    I am a Christain Egyptian and can speak Coptic as it is still taught in churches. It is so cool that Christains managed to preserve such an acncient language.

  90. @jonathantalley6110

    March 23, 2024 at 6:05 pm

    We literally know the guy who built the first pyramid and some people will still say it was aliens

  91. @rationalgazer

    March 23, 2024 at 6:06 pm

    I’m so sorry this isn’t on topic, but this woman is so insanely attractive haha!

  92. @xys7536

    March 23, 2024 at 6:24 pm

    BLACK biggest proof ever coptics are BLACK

  93. @Dee-uy3tx

    March 23, 2024 at 7:34 pm

    First of all they weren’t Egyptians .Kemet kemet

  94. @t-mac1236

    March 23, 2024 at 7:35 pm

    Poor girls hair is all messed up in the back 😬

  95. @coym5452

    March 23, 2024 at 7:41 pm

    Ohh and they where black your welcome 🙏

  96. @woofawoof7616

    March 23, 2024 at 7:55 pm

    Very random, but your eyes are so pretty!!! ❤ Appreciate the video, too, so interesting!

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